Grid ceiling

ABSTRACT

A grid ceiling comprising section beams and grids having relatively small dimensions with regard to the dimensions of said grid ceiling, said grids being supported by said section beams which extend in longitudinal and transverse direction and are arranged staggered relative to one another and are suspended in their centre to a stationary support, the section beams which are arranged in one direction having ends supported by beams which are arranged in the other direction and vice versa.

United States Patent 1 DeJonge I Mar. 19, 1974 GRID CEILING [76] Inventor: Martinns Catrinus DeJonge, Hoffemalaan 17, Bilthoven,

Netherlands [22] Filed: Mar. 9, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 233,220

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 31, 1971 Netherlands 7104323 [52] US. Cl 52/665, 52/484, 52/486, 52/665, 52/668 [51] Int. Cl. E04b 5/52 [58] 7 Field of Search 52/484, 486, 664, 665, 52/666, 485, 488, 668, 669, 719; 287/l89.36

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3.050.162 8/1962 Zingone 52/666 X 3,017,973 l/l962 Schwartz... 3,503,641 3/1970 Fraser 287/189.36 A

3,310,922 3/1967 Hoffmann. Jr 52/664 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 925,793 3/1955 Germany 52/484 849,847 9/1960 Great Britain 52/484 551,113 11/1956 Italy ..52/664 Primary ExaminerFrank L. Abbott Assistant Examiner-Carl D, Friedman Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Karl W. Flocks 5 7] ABSTRACT A grid ceiling comprising section beams and grids having relatively small dimensions with regard to the dimensions of said grid ceiling, said grids being supported by said section beams which extend in longitudinal and transverse direction and are arranged stag gered relative to one another and are suspended in their centre to a stationary support, the section beams which are arranged in one direction having ends supported by beams which are arranged in the other direction and vice versa.

5 'Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEBHAR 19 m4 SHEEI 3 0f 3 FIGS FIG?

FIG.9

I m I GRID CEILING This invention relates to a grid ceiling, comprising a plurality of grids arranged side by side, constituted by crossing strips, and supporting means for said grids which are suspended with the aid of suspension devices and aims at providing a grid ceiling of this kind which may easily and inexpensively be manufactured and rapidly and easily assembled, while it can be adapted to the dimensions of any ceiling and presents a pleasing appearence.

This is accomplished with the grid ceiling according to the invention in that said supporting means comprise a supporting structure constituted by section beams,

preferably channel beams, extending in longiudinal and transverse direction of the ceiling, the legs of which are provided with slots with which the ends of crossing grid strips are in engagement with-the aid of lips.

A preferred embodiment of the grid ceiling according to the invention is characterized in that the pieces of channel beam or pieces of a different profile of the supporting structure have a length which is approximately equal to twice the length of the side supported thereby of each of the grids, the pieces of channel beam extending in transverse and longitudinal direction of the grid ceiling being arranged in staggered fashion relative to one another and the pieces of-channelbeam extending in one direction being suspended at their ends and the pieces of channel beam extending in the other direction being suspended'in their centre, the ends of the channelbeam extending in one direction engaging with lips the legs of the channel beam extending in the other direction. In this way the advantage is obtained that the entire grid ceiling can be manufactured in grid componentshaving small dimensions in the factory and that the grid components can be transported without difficulty to the building site and. may be dimensioned such as to be easily mountable while the ceiling composed-of these components nevertheless constitutes a firm assembly offering high resistance against deforming forces.

According to the invention the legs of thepieces of channel beam suspended in their centre may each be provided in'that the legs of the pieces of channel beam suspended in their centre are each provided witha slot through which a resilient suspension strip is passed which in its centre is secured to a suspensionrod or similar element and the ends of which lie against the inner side of the bodiesof the pieces of channel beam abutting against'andextending transversely to said firstmentioned pieces of channel'beam. At the location of said slots there may be provided, if desired, a hole in the body of the pieces of channel bea'rnand'throug'h said hole a nut threaded on the end of the suspension rod may be adjusted for height in order to bring the grid ceiling entirely into one flat plane. By applying this way of suspending the grid ceiling consisting of components the advantage is obtained that certain portions of the grid ceiling can easily be disassembled if operations have to be carried out above the ceiling, and the disassembled parts of the ceiling may easily be assembled after said operations have been completed.

A preferred embodiment of the grid ceiling according to the invention is characterized in that the legs of each of the pieces of section beam comprise holes through which a pin for suspension device is passed, said pin projecting on either side beyond said piece of section beam, a curved plate spring comprising a hole engaging each of said projecting pin ends, the lower end of said spring abutting with tension against the inner side of the body of the pieces of section beam engaging with the lips said first-mentioned piece of section beam.

-The invention will be further explained below with reference to the accompaying drawings showing by way of example an embodiment of the grid ceiling according to the invention.

The drawings show in FIG. 1 a top plane view of part of said grid ceiling;

FIG. 2 a cross-section of a piece of channel beam;

' FIG. 3 a side view of the piece of channel beam, parts of which have been broken away;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 a cross connection of the pieces of channel beam with the suspension device;

FIGS. 7 and 8 a view of the end portion of a longitudinal strip and of a transverse strip of a grid;

FIG. Q and 10 a top plan view and a section respectively of another embodiment of the grid.

The grid ceiling shown in the drawings comprises a supporting structure lfor'a plurality of grids arranged side 'by side, which in the drawings are square but which, if desired, may be rectangularly shaped or diamond-shaped or have any other shape.

The supporting structure 1 comprises a plurality of pieces of channel beam 3 and 4, arranged in longitudinal and transverse direction respectively, said pieces having a length equal to twice the width of agrid 2 plus the width of a pieceof channel beam 3. The pieces of channel beam 3 of two adjacent rows of pieces of channel beam are arranged staggered relative to one another such that on either side there abuts against the centre of each piece of channel beam an end portion of one of the pieces of channel beam crossing the firstmentioned piece of channel beam. The ends of the pieces of channel beam are provided with lips 5 engaging the legs of the piece of channel beam against which they abut. In order to prevent the pieces of channel beam from shifting relative to each other the legs of the pieces of channel beam are provided with slots 6 and the'lips with slots 7, said slots being of such length that the bodies of the crossing pieces of channel beam are situated in one plane.

A piece of channel bea'm 3 and 4 has in its centre a slot 8 through which a strip 9 of resilient material, for instance spring steel, grips, the ends of which are bent and abut against the inner side of the bodies of the pieces of channel beam co-operating with said firstmentioned piece of channel beam. ln the centre of the resilient strip 9 there is provided an aperture 10 through which the end of a threaded suspension rod 11 is'passed. With the aid of a nut 12 the suspension height of the pieces of channel beam can be adjusted such that their lower sides are situated in one plane. For this purpose a hole 13 may be provided at the point of the nut 12 in the body of the piece of channel beam in ques tion.

Lips l4 and 15 respectively of the longitudinal strips 16 and the transverse strips 17 of the grids engage the legs of the pieces of channel beam 3 and 4. In order to prevent said strips from shifting the legs of the pieces of channel beam 3 and 4 are provided with slots 18 and the lips 14 and 15 with slots 19.

The longitudinal and transverse strips of the grids in the drawings are provided in the known manner with slots 22 and 21 respectively with which they interlock. However, the grids may also be manufactured from one single piece of synthetic material. The longitudinal and transverse strips 16 and 17 are arranged such that the lower edges thereof are situated in the same plane as the bottom surfaces of the pieces of channel beam while the upper edges thereof project beyond said pieces of channel beam.

Each piece of channel beam 3 and 4 comprises a hole 22 through which a pin 23 is passed, the ends of which project beyond the channel beam 4 into the abutting channel beam 3. The upper end ofa plate spring 24 engages, with the aid of a hole 25 provided therein, each of said projecting pin ends. Said spring 24 is of such length that its portion below the hole provided therein is longer than the distance from the pin 23 to the bottom of the channel beam 3. After the springs have been mounted they-are pressed towards the legs of the piece of channel beam such that they assume the curved shape shown in FIG. 10. As a result the pin 23 is firmly held in the holes 22 of the channel beam 24. In each of the projecting end of the pin 23 one may provide, if desired, a groove 26 or suchlike recess in which part of the spring 24 situated at the periphery of the hole 22 provided in said spring 24 engages. Consequently the pins 23 are locked so as to ensure that they are prevented from shifting. if desired the lower end of each of the springs 24 can be secured by a groove 27 an/or a ridge 28 provided in or on the inner side of the body of the channel beams 3.

it is obvious that the invention is not restricted to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawing's. It is also possible, for instance, to manufacture the channel beams extending in longitudinal or transverse direction in one piece and to arrange between said onepiece beams short lengths of channel beam in the aforedescribed manner. In addition the grid ceiling according to the invention may be suspended in any known manner from a supporting structure used in practice. Also the longitudinal and transverse strips of the grids can have a different height or be provided in some other way, for example they may project beyond the bottom side of the pieces of channel beam.

I claim:

l. A grid ceiling comprising a plurality of grids arranged in parallel rows and having substantially channel-shaped U-beams extending in longitudinal and transverse direction of the ceiling, each U-beam having a length substantially equal to the length of two grid sides supported thereby, characterized in that said channel-shaped beams are arranged in staggered relation to one another, the ends of said channel-shaped beams extending in one direction being supported in the center of said beams extending in the other direction and vice versa, suspension means being provided for suspending said beams extending in the other direction in their center, the legs of said U-beams being provided with slots arranged substantially in their center and in their end portions gripping into slots on said beams lying cross-wise thereto, each of the legs of said channel beams being provided with a hole lying substantially in its center, the suspension means being provided with at least a resilient means passing through said holes, the ends of said resilient means lying against the bottoms of the ends of the beams supported by said beam.

2. A grid ceiling comprising a plurality of grids arranged in parallel rows and having substantially channel-shaped U-beams extending in longitudinal and transverse direction of the ceiling, each U-beam having a length substantially equal to the length of two grid sides supported thereby, characterized in that said channel-shaped beams are arranged in staggered relation to one another, the ends of said channel-shaped beams extending in one direction being supported in the center of said beams extending in the other direction and vice versa, suspension means being provided for suspending said beams extending in the other direction in their center, the legs of said U-beams being provided with slots arranged substantially in their center and in their end portions gripping intoslots on said beams lying cross-wise thereto, each of the legs of the substantially U-beams including a hole, a pin for a suspension device being passed through said holes, said pin projecting on either sidebeyond said U-beams, a curved leaf spring comprising a hole engaging each of said projecting pin ends, the lower end of each of said springs abutting with tension against the inner side of the ends of the U-beams which extend transversely to said first mentioned U-beams.

3. A grid ceiling according to claim 2, further characterized by the ends of said transversely extending U- beams being provided with tongues gripping into slots provided in the legs of the U-beams.

4. A grid ceiling according to claim 2, further characterized by the ends of the pin including abutment means for the leaf springs cooperating with said pin.

5. A grid ceiling according to claim 2, further characterized by the ends of said transversely extending U- beams being provided with tongues gripping into slots provided in the legs of the U-beams. 

1. A grid ceiling comprising a plurality of grids arranged in parallel rows and having substantially channel-shaped U-beams extending in longitudinal and transverse direction of the ceiling, each U-beam having a length substantially equal to the length of two grid sides supported thereby, characterized in that said channel-shaped beams are arranged in staggered relation to one another, the ends of said channel-shaped beams extending in one direction being supported in the center of said beams extending in the other direction and vice versa, suspension means being provided for suspending said beams extending in the other direction in their center, the legs of said U-beams being provided with slots arranged substantially in their center and in their end portions gripping into slots on said beams lying crosswise thereto, each of the legs of said channel beams being provided with a hole lying substantially in its center, the suspension means being provided with at least a resilient means passing through said holes, the ends of said resilient means lying against the bottoms of the ends of the beams supported by said beam.
 2. A grid ceiling comprising a plurality of grids arranged in parallel rows and having substantially channel-shaped U-beams extending in longitudinal and transverse direction of the ceiling, each U-beam having a length substantially equal to the length of two grid sides supported thereby, characterized in that said channel-shaped beams are arranged in staggered relation to one another, the ends of said channel-shaped beams extending in one direction being supported in the center of said beams extending in the other direction and vice versa, suspension means being provided for suspending said beams extending in the other direction in their center, the legs of said U-beams being provided with slots arranged substantially in their center and in their end portions gripping into slots on said beams lying cross-wise thereto, each of the legs of the substantially U-beams including a hole, a pin for a suspension device being passed through said holes, said pin projecting on either side beyond said U-beams, a curved leaf spring comprising a hole engaging each of said projecting pin ends, the lower end of each of said springs abutting with tension against the inner side of the ends of the U-beams which extend transversely to said first mentioned U-beams.
 3. A grid ceiling according to claim 2, further characterized by the ends of said transversely extending U-beams being provided with tongues gripping into slots provided in the legs of the U-beams.
 4. A grid ceiling according to claim 2, further characterized by the ends of the pin including abutment means for the leaf springs cooperating with said pin.
 5. A grid ceiling according to claim 2, further characterized by the ends of said transversely extending U-beams being provided with tongues gripping into slots provided in the legs of the U-beams. 